Macedonia

The 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Regiment landed at Salonika,as already stated, on 5th December and 18th November, 1916, respectively. They formed part of an Allied force of some 140,000 under the chief command of the French General Sarrail. General Sir Bryan Mahon commanded the British contingent. He was relieved in 1917 by General Sir George Milne. The expedition occupied neutral territory; Greece had not yet decided to join the Allies.

The defeated remnants of the Serbian Army gradually joined the Allied force and by the end of the summer of 1916 their strength was 150,000. One division of Italian troops also joined the Allied force in 1916. There were also two Russian divisions, but these were withdrawn soon after the Russian Revolution.

The object of the Allies had been to rescue Servia, but they arrived too late to effect this object and a long period of defensive warfare against the Bulgars followed. The fighting in this phase was not severe, but the scourge of malaria caused serious losses to the force. Greece joined the Allies in June, 1917, and General Franchet d'Esperey assumed the chief command in the same month.

Two Years Of Stationary Warfare

After the first fight to help the Serbs, with only two divisions, had failed, the Allies held a line from the Gulf of Orfano on the right to Albania on the Adriatic on the left. The River Vardar divided British from French, the British being on the right of the line. In July, 1916, the Allies advanced to the River Struma and Lake Doiran without opposition. The Bulgars were inactive and for nearly two years no fighting of consequence took place. Patrol work and small mobile columns kept the troops from stagnating, and our battalions took a very efficient part in these minor operations.

23rd August 1916  Major A. F. C. Maclachlan commanded a successful column whose object was to blow up the bridges over the River Angista. Lieutenant-Colonel W. J. Long, commanding the 3rd Battalion, was in support with his battalion. Three bridges were successfully blown, and the columns withdrew with trifling casualties. Other troops had more serious fighting at times. Brigadier-General B. F. Widdrington, commanding the 81st Brigade (lately commanding the 4th Battalion), drove off an enemy attack, and caused them 5,000 casualties.

31st October, 1916  The 3rd Battalion took part in a successful holding attack on the Hogsback. Their losses were very small. The Turks, who had relieved the Bulgars, lost heavily and apparently thought a major attack had been repelled.

The 4th Battalion returned to France in the summer of 1918, embarking at Itea on 25th June.